THE Solomon Islands National Statistics Office (SINSO) within the Ministry of Finance and Treasury (MoFT) is the Government Central Statistics Agency and has the mandate to release and report on key official economic statistics/indicators in the country.
That’s according to the Government Statistician Douglas Kimi.
Mr Kimi was responding to commentators on social media questioning the role of SINSO in releasing official statistics such as the recent release of the International Merchandise Trade Statistics (IMTS) for the first quarter of 2017.
The Government Statistician, Mr Kimi explained:
“On the issue of whether SINSO has the mandate to release and report on key official economic statistics/indicators such as the recent international merchandise trade statistics (IMTS), inflation (CPI) and even gross domestic product (GDP), then those concerned are informed that it is the role of the SINSO (as mandated by law (Statistics Act 1970) to collect, process, compile, analyze and disseminate such key official statistics for evidence based policy, planning and every day decision-making,” he said.
He said the production and reporting of key statistics is done “independently” from any influence of other Solomon Islands Government (SIG) ministries even from key users of statistics such as the Central Bank of Solomon Islands (CBSI) and the Ministry of Finance and Treasury (MoFT). “However, not only is the CBSI a key user of SINSO statistics but it is also a producer of financial and monetary statistics in their own right.”
He added that since the recent SIG’s Cabinet endorsement of the country’s first-ever National Statistics Development Strategy 2015-16 to 2035, (NSDS 2015-16 to 2035) the SINSO is now stepping up to report on key statistics on a timely and regular basis.
“That is why you will see more headlines of timely statistical releases in the media now and going-forward, than previously in the past.
“Since the SINSO is SIG’s Central Statistics Agency, it is the official producer of official statistics.
“Its mandate does not cross with the mandate of key users of statistics such as the CBSI where a key part of CBSI’s (or MoFT) role is to take the statistics produced by the SINSO and to further analyze its implications and impacts on monetary and fiscal policies of the country and to inform the country.
“The SINSO does not provide these kind of in-depth analysis and links to policies, but it is within SINSO role to report on the key indicators separately.
“Such practice is common in many developing and developed countries.
“We hope this clarifies the role of the SINSO to collect, process, compile and disseminate official population-social and economic statistics for evidence based planning, policy and every day decision making,” Mr Kimi said.
About SINSO
The Solomon Islands National Statistics Office (SINSO) is a government department within the Ministry of Finance and Treasury.
Guided under the Statistics Act 1970 (amendments 2007), the Census Act 1959, the SINSO is mandated to compile and disseminate official statistics of the Solomon Islands.
The SINSO serves as the leading source of quality data about the populous and the economy. We honor privacy, protect confidentiality and conduct our work openly. We are guided on this mission by our strong and capable workforce our readiness to innovate and abiding commitment to our customers. It was our goal to provide the best mix of timeliness, relevancy, quality and cost for the data we collect and services.
The Government Statistician (GS) and his Statistics Management lead the SINSO. The office is made up of four sections; the Economic Statistics Unit, Social and Demography Statistics Unit, Census and Survey Statistics Unit and Executive Management and Support Services Unit.
Altogether there are 26 staffs (including the GS) in the department carryout duties ranging from collecting, compiling, analysing and dissemination of information in the various subjects in the different sections.
– SINSO
